People arrive at a career in interaction design or UX in many ways, often never receiving any formal training in design. Whether you’re just starting out or have a few years of work experience, having a solid understanding of the core elements of design practice can help take you to the next level. Core concepts in visual communication, synthesis, and critique lay the foundation for a strong design practice, and will help you refine and focus many of the techniques and methods you already use in your teams.

Join members of the senior Normative team for a two-hour crash course in the foundations of design practice. This workshop will provide hands-on opportunities to better understand how to use design methods, based on three core areas:

Design Synthesis - The core of design practice is about generating many ideas and solutions, then using different methods to synthesize and narrow them based on criteria. Methods such as reframing, flow mapping, and concept modelling help us do this quickly and iteratively.

Visual Communication - Ideas are great, but it’s the designers job to articulately communicate potential solutions in a way that helps people visualize what’s possible. Constructive sketching, modelling, and layout allow designers to communicate their vision clearly and quickly, as well as to explore ideas in depth for further iteration.

Critique - Getting good quality feedback is critical to the design process. Critique methods help channel feedback and make sure the designer is getting relevant and constructive criticism that helps take the design to the next level.

In this workshop, you will learn the basics of these methods through practice in a studio environment. You’ll be able to take your new knowledge back to your own work immediately.